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The Link Between Suicide and Automobile Crashes

Why it's highly likely we are underestimating the prevalence of suicides by not looking closer into the mindsets of those who wreck their vehicles, especially single vehicle accidents with no reasonable explanation other than lost control.

By Tami NietoPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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Photo by Matthew T Rader on Unsplash

"'Before suicides became the leading cause of non-battle injuries, motor vehicle injuries were," said Bruce H. Jones, a physician and epidemiologist who heads the Army's injury prevention program at Aberdeen Proving Ground, in Maryland"(1).

Is There a Connection between Suicide and Fatal Motor Vehicle Wrecks?

Suicide rates are still increasing, but I think that they're vastly underestimated, because we aren't accounting for every method of suicide available. We count the usual ones, by guns, hanging, overdosing, etc, but one way I don't think we're really looking at is the rate of single car accidents that result in the death or serious injury of only one person.

What would you do if you don't want to live, but your insurance company won't pay out life insurance if the cause of death is suicide? You find creative ways to kill yourself that aren't as readily apparent as what it is.

Look at the incidence of single car wrecks involving veterans and those with more than one suicide attempt.

According to the Washington Post, veterans who come home from deployments or after suffering from PTSD are much more likely to be involved in single vehicle fatal car wrecks. Here are some interesting stats.

"Motor vehicle crashes have long been a serious problem in the military. From 1999 through 2012, a period spanning peacetime and the two wars, as many active-duty military personnel died in noncombat motor vehicle crashes both on and off duty (4,423) as were killed in the Iraq war (4,409)"(1).

Also:

"Men who served in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan have a 76 percent higher rate of dying in vehicle crashes, and women a 43 percent higher rate, than people in the general population, according to an unpublished study by Han K. Kang, an epidemiologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The same phenomenon was seen in Persian Gulf War veterans and took five years to dissipate"(1).

This is significant, as the risks of suicide within the veteran community is very high. I don't think we are taking stock of all ways veterans use to end their lives, especially those who stand to pass on hefty life insurance policies to their families. I'm not saying that it's right, but understandable given the mindset that he/she is "useless" and their family would be "better off if I were dead".

I don't believe we're looking deeply enough into mindsets of those who involve themselves in reckless driving and who take more risk than should be prudent. This is not an all inclusive statement, as many auto accidents are in fact complete accidents and should not be classified as suicide. These two quotes summarize nicely what I believe could be a serious and ongoing problem within the veteran community that should be continuously addressed and studied.

"Recent research suggests individuals deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan may develop mental health difficulties. Among combat veterans, 19% of those returning from Iraq and 11.3% of those returning from Afghanistan reported a mental health problem, and rates of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse increased substantially from pre- to postdeployment (2). 

Research suggests that 25% of OEF/OIF veterans meet criteria for a mental health diagnosis, with common diagnoses including PTSD, adjustment disorders, mood disorders, and substance use disorders. Veterans may struggle with anger, hostility, and aggression, and with pain, fatigue, and insomnia. These mental health problems create a significant occupational burden and negatively impact functioning and well-being"(2).

These statistics are staggering. Almost one quarter of all veterans who have served within these wars are mentally disordered (2). Of those, 76% of those are likely to engage or become victim to a fatal vehicle accident (1). This creates a difficult life as these veterans struggle constantly to maintain control of their mental health and sanity and often it's not enough. What are we doing to combat these very scary trends? The VA is doing more now than before, but I believe that there is more to be done.

In Summary

It's important to look at the mindset and mental health of those who have wrecked their cars, especially those in single car "at fault" or "lost control" accidents. They could be a simple mistake or miscalculation, or they could be evidence of failure to treat or notice a serious mental health condition that could have been treated to save their life.

Resources:

  1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/motor-vehicle-crashes-a-little-known-risk-to-returning-veterans-of-iraq-and-afghanistan/2013/05/05/41da2f6c-a3b1-11e2-82bc-511538ae90a4_story.html
  2. https://academic.oup.com/milmed/article/179/6/633/4160760

If you're struggling right now and don't want to fight any longer, here is a direct link to the Veterans' Crisis line. Don't wait, call:

https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/

About me: Tami Nieto

I'm a motivated mommy, future Psychology Bachelors of Science Student, and aspiring Behavior Analyst who writes things pertaining to raising children, employment struggles, poverty topics, and other things. Usually you can find me typing furiously on my laptop, obsessing over the financial markets, or studying whatever I feel like at the moment. You can follow me on twitter.com/@momtips4success, https://www.facebook.com/TamiMNieto and others. I love comments, responses, questions, and feedback. Thanks for reading!

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